20 Sci-Fi Movies EVERY Film Fan Should Have Seen
11. The Terminator
One of the smaller scale productions on this list and yet one that made a huge impact, The Terminator was essentially just a 90-minute chase thriller in which one woman found herself on the wrong end of her stalker's weapon. And while it nailed everything a good thriller should, it was the storytelling punches that hit that much harder.
Below the surface, The Terminator was an incredibly clever tale about where humanity's troubling reliance on new technology could lead (seems appropriate in today's day and age), incorporating time-travel, robotics and more elements commonly associated with the science fiction genre. And what ultimately set this - and its first sequel - apart from the failed successors was how they never got in the way of the story and were merely there to enhance the simple narrative.
A game-changing triumph, this classic is an interesting look at humanity's undying will to survive, and it features a career-defining performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger as the emotionless cyborg.
James Cameron's road to box-office domination goes through The Terminator and that - and all of the above - makes it an absolute must-watch for not just science fiction fans but all film fans in general.